Updates, advisories and surprises

(8:29 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Knight Transportation Inc.
KNX, +0.58%
late Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $18.5 million, or 21 cents a share, up 27% from $14.6 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Phoenix-based trucking company rose to $164.6 million from $126.8 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had estimated earnings of 20 cents a share on revenue of $150 million. The company expects its fleet to grow 15% in 2006.

Iberiabank quarterly profit rises 14%

(8:17 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Iberiabank Corp.
IBKC, +1.83%
late Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $7.91 million, or 80 cents a share, up 8% from $7.33 million, or 80 cents a share, last year. Net interest income at the Lafayette, La.-based bank holding company rose 14%, to $21.9 million from $19.3 million. The company said it is comfortable with its previous 2006 earnings forecast of $3.54 to $3.64 a share.

First Horizon quarterly earnings rise

(8:08 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- First Horizon National Corp.
FHN, +1.60%
Wednesday evening said fourth-quarter net income was $109.9 million, or 85 cents a share, compared with $103.2 million, or 81 cents a share, during the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected per-share earnings of 85 cents. The Memphis, Tenn.-based bank reported quarterly net interest income of $254.8 million, compared with $228.4 million last year.

II-VI quarterly profit slips; revenue rises

(6:55 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- II-VI Inc.
IIVI, +2.01%
late Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $5.18 million, or 17 cents a share, vs. $5.39 million, or 18 cents a share, during the same period a year ago. The Saxonburg, Pa.-based maker of optical and opto-electronic components posted total revenue of $53.8 million vs. $43.2 million. Net sales were $51.8 million compared with $41.5 million a year ago. Bookings for the quarter increased 27% to $62.7 million vs. $49.4 million. Looking ahead, II-VI said it expects second-quarter earnings of 17 cents to 22 cents a share on revenue of $54 million to $58 million. For fiscal 2006, the company forecast earnings of 80 cents to 85 cents a share on revenue of $220 million to $226 million. Additionally, the company said a non-cash charge for stock options expensing is expected to reduce second-quarter earnings by 2 cents a share and fiscal 2006 earnings by 7 cents to 8 cents a share.

Radian Group quarterly profit falls 33%; revenue down 21%

(5:50 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Radian Group Inc.
RDN, +0.71%
Wednesday evening reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $104.46 million, or $1.24 a share, a 33% drop from $156 million, or $1.62 a share, last year. Revenue fell 21% to $298.64 million from $379.14 million in the year-ago period. The private mortgage insurance provider said net premiums written during the quarter totaled $272.72 million, compared with $287.26 million last year.

Majesco Entertainment sales sink; firm to revise strategy

(5:34 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Majesco Entertainment Co.
COOL, -1.81%
said late Wednesday unaudited sales for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 fell 90% to $4.6 million from $45.6 million a year ago. The Edison, N.J.-based video game publisher said it swung to a quarterly loss of $34.2 million, or $1.54 on a per share basis, compared to a profit of $16.2 million, or 74 cents a share from the year before. Due to the cost of developing games for next generation consoles, the company said it will sell off its rights to or cancel its titles still in development, and turn its focus primarily to developing games for handheld devices. The company did not provide a 2006 forecast. Majesco shares fell 25% to 85 cents in after hours trades.

NVE quarterly profit rises 7%; Reynders named new CFO

(5:24 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- NVE Corp.
NVE, -6.93%
late Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter net earnings of $401,385, or 9 cents a share, up 7% from $375,172, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based nanotechnology company rose to $2.61 million from $2.56 million. The company also said Richard George retired as chief financial officer last Monday. Curt Reynders was promoted to replace George.

Lam Research quarterly profit, revenue fall

(5:14 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Lam Research Corp.
LRCX, -0.82%
after Wednesday's closing bell reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $77.78 million, or 55 cents a share, down 7% from $83.61 million, or 59 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue at the chip-equipment maker fell 5.7% to $358.25 million from $379.8 million in the year-ago period. Its gross margin was 49.5% compared with 52.4% last year, said the Fremont, Calif.-based company.

Washington Mutual quarterly net income rises 29%

(5:05 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Washington Mutual Inc. said late Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit climbed 29% as the lender got a boost from its acquisition last year of credit-card company Providian Financial. Net income in the period came in at $865 million, or 85 cents a share, vs. $668 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier, the company reported. Washington Mutual's fourth-quarter net interest margin was 2.77%, up 16 basis points from the third quarter, as the addition of higher-yielding assets from Providian's credit card business more than offset margin compression in the rest of the company's portfolio, which includes home loans.

Tripath Technology raises 1Q revenue outlook

(4:55 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tripath Technology Inc.
TRPH
said after the closing bell on Wednesday it now expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of about $3.4 million. The San Jose, Calif.-based semiconductor company had previously forecast revenue of $3.1 million for the period.

Citrix quarterly profit rises 13%

(4:52 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Citrix Systems Inc.
CTXS, +0.67%
after Wednesday's closing bell reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $58.9 million, or 32 cents a share, up 13% from $52.3 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding some items, the company's earnings were 36 cents a share compared with 29 cents a share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast earnings of 31 cents a share. Revenue at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based software company rose to $268.7 million from $214 million a year ago. The company expects first-quarter earnings of 18 cents to 20 cents a share, or 27 cents to 28 cents a share excluding items, on revenue of $240 million to $249 million. Analysts are estimating first-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $238 million. For fiscal 2006, Citrix forecast a per-share profit of 88 cents to 97 cents, or $1.23 to $1.28 excluding items, on revenue of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.23 a share on revenue of $1.02 billion.

AMD posts Q4 profit $96M, sales $1.84B

(4:46 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (Marketwatch) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD, +1.47%
late Wednesday said it earned $96 million, or 21 cents a share. That compares with a loss of $30 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The results included a non-cash charge of $110 million, or 24 cents a share, tied to its spin off of its flash memory unit last month. Last year's loss was impacted by charges related to the retirement of debt and operating losses from its flash memory-chip division. Sales rose 45% to $1.84 billion, bolstered by demand for its chips used in corporate servers, desktop computers, and laptops. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected AMD to post revenue of $1.659 billion.

Apple Computer profit rises 95%

(4:33 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Computer Inc.
AAPL, +0.42%
on Wednesday reported a first-quarter profit of $565 million, or 65 cents a share, on $5.75 billion in revenue. The company beat the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, who forcast a profit of 61 cents a share on revenue of $5.54 billion. During the same period a year ago, Apple earned $295 million, or 35 cents a share, on $3.5 billion in revenue.

Hutchinson Technology quarterly earnings plunge; revenue up

(4:20 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hutchinson Technology Inc.
HTCH
after the closing bell on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $6.05 million, or 22 cents a share, vs. $13.4 million, or 47 cents a share, during the same period a year ago. The Hutchinson, Minn.-based supplier of suspension assemblies for disk drives posted revenue of $184.6 million vs. $145.6 million. Gross margin was 21% for the quarter compared with 28% a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast first-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share on revenue of $181 million. Looking ahead, Hutchinson forecast fiscal second-quarter earnings of 15 cents to 30 cents a share on revenue of $190 million to $205 million. The company expects gross margin of 21% to 23% in the second quarter and suspension assembly shipments to range from 210 million to 225 million units.

Kinder Morgan earnings steady on big sales increase

(4:20 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Energy pipeline and distribution company Kinder Morgan Inc.
KMI, +0.62%
reported late Wednesday fourth-quarter net earnings of $180 million, or $1.42 a share, up from $179 million, or $1.43 a share, a year ago, when there were fewer shares outstanding. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 totaled $663 million, more than double the $326 million posted in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected the Houston-based company to report per-share earnings of $1.17 on revenue of $361 million. Kinder Morgan shares closed ahead of the report at $96.29, a 1.2% loss for the day.

EBay quarterly profit rises 36%; rev jumps 42%

(4:15 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ebay Inc.
EBAY, +1.53%
after Wednesday's closing bell reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $279.22 million, or 20 cents a share, a 36% rise from $205.38 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding certain items, EBay earned 24 cents a share. Revenue rose 42% to $1.33 billion from $935.78 million in the year-ago period. The results beat expectations by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, who were expecting earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $1.3 billion. Looking ahead, the online marketplace forecast first-quarter net earnings of 14 cents to 15 cents a share and pro forma earnings of 22 cents to 23 cents a share on revenue of $1.365 billion to $1.38 billion. EBay forecast second-quarter net earnings of 14 cents to 16 cents a share and pro forma earnings of 22 cents to 23 cents a share on revenue of $1.37 billion to $1.415 billion.

Spansion quarterly loss widens; rev rises 22%

(4:14 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Spansion Inc.
SPSN, -1.03%
after Wednesday's closing bell reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $47.5 million, or 63 cents a share, vs. a net loss of $26.6 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago perrod. Operating loss was $36.7 million compared with $36.3 million last year. Revenue at the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of flash memory chips rose 22%, to $591.6 million from $487 million. Spansion expects first-quarter sales to be slightly down sequentially due to seasonality. The company, which was spun off from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD, +1.47%
had its initial public offering Dec. 16.

Seagate Technology reports $287 million profit

(4:06 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Seagate Technology Inc.
STX, +4.35%
on Wednesday reported a second-quarter profit of $287 million, or 57 cents a share, on $2.3 billion in revenue. The No. 1 disk-drive maker beat the estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, who forecast a profit of 52 cents a share on revenue of $2.2 billion. During the year-ago period, Seagate earned 29 cents a share on revenue of $1.85 billion.

Southwest CEO says federal security payment could recur

(12:51 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Southwest Airlines
LUV, +0.42%
Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly told analysts during a conference call Wednesday that that an unexpected annual $24 million Transportation Security Administration payment recorded in the airline's fourth-quarter will likely become a fixed expense in 2006 if the company fails to successfully challenge it. "The implication is that it will be a recurring annual charge at an additional $24 million," he said. Southwest is contesting the retroactive assessment.

LeCroy shares slump following 2Q financial report

(12:34 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- LeCroy Corp.
LCRY
shares fell almost 6% to $14.06 after the Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., maker of oscilloscopes posted a pro forma profit of $3.6 million, or 29 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter, down from its year-ago equivalent earnings of $3.9 million, or 32 cents a share. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 28 cents a share in the December period. Looking ahead, the company sees revenue of between $38 million and $40 million for the third quarter, a sequential decline from its revenue total of $42 million in the second quarter.

Synovus quarterly profit rises 16%

(12:16 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Synovus Financial Corp.
SNV, +0.97%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $137.26 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $118.72 million, or 38 cents a share, a year ago. Net interest income at the Columbus, Ga.-based financial services holding company rose 16% to $260.1 million from $224.04 million a year ago. Synovus said its quarterly return on assets was 2% and return on equity was 18.74%, compared with 1.91% and 17.92%, respectively, in the year-ago period.

Yahoo shares slammed; Net sector bleeds red

(9:46 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Yahoo Inc.
YHOO
shares fell 12% to $35.20 early Wednesday after the Internet media company reported a fourth-quarter profit that disappointed investors and provided a first-quarter forecast that fell below expectations. The news dragged on other Net stocks as the Dow Jones Internet Index
DJI_DJINET
was down 2.8% to 95.57, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index
$COMPQ
was down 36.10 points to 2,266.59. Google Inc.
GOOG, +0.57%
shares were down 3.5% to $450.62. EBay Inc.
EBAY, +1.53%
which reports its quarterly results after the market close, saw its shares fall 0.7% to $45.07. In China, shares of Tom Online Inc.
TOMO
fell 5.6%.

AMR 4Q loss widens to $604M vs year-ago $387M

(9:01 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- AMR Corp.
AMR, -21.55%
Wednesday posted a loss of $604 million, or $3.49 a share, for the fourth quarter, wider than its year-ago loss of $387 million, or $2.40 a share. The latest results for the parent company of American Airlines include $155 million in aircraft charges, $73 million in facility charges, a $37 million gain related to debt restructuring. Excluding items, the company lost $413 million, or $2.39 a share, in the quarter. Revenue rose 13.8% in the latest three months to $5.17 billion from $4.54 billion in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a loss of $2.55 a share in the December period. The stock closed Wednesday at $18.86, down 7.2%.

CORRECT: Charles Schwab profit more than triples

(8:55 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Online financial services firm Charles Schwab Corp.
SCHW, +0.84%
said Wednesday its fourth quarter net income jumped 250% to $187 million from $53 million a year ago. On a per share basis, the company's earnings grew to 14 cents a share from 4 cents a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected, on average, that the firm would earn 14 cents a share in the quarter. (Corrects headline.)

Amphenol earns top Wall St. view by penny

(8:52 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Amphenol Corp.
APH, +0.23%
Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $55.8 million, or 61 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $45.6 million, or 51 cents a share. Sales rose 26% in the latest three months to $508.1 million from $404 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 60 cents a share on sales of $468.4 million in the December period. The Wallingford, Conn., producer of electronic and fiber optic connectors noted that the latest results include a sales contribution of $35 million from the connection systems business of Teradyne, which Amphenol acquired on Dec. 1. These sales were offset by interest expense related to the funding of the acquisition. Looking ahead, Amphenol sees earnings of $2.56 to $2.63 a share on revenue of $2.25 billion to $2.3 billion for fiscal 2006. The stock closed Tuesday at $46.16, up 3 cents.

First Niagara Financial 4Q earns $23.5M vs $13.6M

(8:41 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- First Niagara Financial Group
FNFG
Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $23.5 million, or 21 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $13.6 million, or 17 cents a share. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 22 cents a share in the December period. The Lockport, N.Y., bank holding company attributed the sequential decline in its performance to the "challenging operating environment" created by the flat yield curve. The stock closed Tuesday at $15.09, up a penny.

Colonial BancGroup net income rises 33%

(8:38 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Colonial BancGroup
CNB, -39.93%
said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net income rose 33% with help from widening net interest margins. Colonial reported net income of $61.5 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $46.3 million, or 34 cents a share, reported a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected the bank to earn 40 cents a share, on average, in the most recent quarter.

Nuveen Investments net income flat

(8:34 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Nuveen Investments Inc.
JNC
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $43.5 million, or 53 cents a share, flat with the year-ago figure of $43.5 million, or 45 cents a share. Operating revenue rose to $157.1 million from $133.9 million. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 53 cents a share. Shares of Chicago-based Nuveen fell 34 cents to $44.24 on Tuesday.

Northern Trust's net rises 11%; misses estimates

(8:29 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Northern Trust Corp.
NTRS, +1.33%
before the opening bell Wednesday said fourth-quarter earnings were $146.6 million, or 67 cents a share, compared with $132.6 million, or 60 cents a share in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected, on average, profit of 68 cents a share. Shares of Northern Trust gained 9 cents to close $52.54 on Tuesday.

Parker Hannifin net dips though sales top $2 billion

(8:28 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Parker Hannifin Corp.
PH, -0.64%
on Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $129 million, or $1.07 a share, compared with $171 million, or $1.41 a share in the year-ago period. Sales in the three months that ended Dec. 31 rose 13% to $2.16 billion from $1.91 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast earnings, on average, of $1.13 a share before items and sales of $2.16 billion. The manufacturer of motion control and related technology also raised the lower end of its fiscal 2006 earnings outlook to a new view of $5.05 to $5.30 a share.

Lee Enterprises 1Q earns $22.8M vs $27M

(8:27 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Lee Enterprises
LEE, +0.00%
Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $22.8 million, or 50 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $27 million, or 60 cents a share. Excluding costs related to the company's Pulitzer acquisition, Davenport, Iowa-based Lee earned 62 cents a share. Revenue rose 64.4% in the latest three months to $302.6 million from $184.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 62 cents a share in the December period. The stock closed Tuesday at $36.71, down 3 cents.

Jefferies & Co. net income rises 32%

(8:23 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Jefferies Group Inc.
JEF, +2.15%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $46.7 million, or 68 cents a share, up from $35.4 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue rose 33% to $431.7 million. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 60 cents a share. Shares of Jefferies & Co. fell $1.35 to $48.15 on Tuesday.

J. Jill Group sees 4Q earns well ahead of Wall St. view

(8:17 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J. Jill Group Inc.
JILL, +5.54%
Wednesday lifted its financial outlook for the fourth quarter due to better than anticipated sales and gross margins resulting from the strong performance of its holiday catalogs. The Quincy, Mass., women's clothing retailer also cited lower than expects inventory overstocks for the view. J. Jill now sees earnings of 12 to 14 cents a share for the fourth quarter on sales of $131 million. It expects same-store sales to decline 3% in the quarter. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for breakeven results in the December period. The stock closed Tuesday at $19.01, down 10 cents.

BankUnited Financial net income rises 11.4%

(8:15 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BankUnited Financial Corp.
BKUNA
on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $16.2 million, or 53 cents a share, up 11.4% from $14.5 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago period. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 44 cents a share. The company also said it'll offer five million Class A common shares. Shares closed at $26.53 on Tuesday.

Huntington net income rises 10% to $100.6 million

(8:10 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Huntington Bancshares Inc.
HBAN, +1.40%
on Wednesday said fourth quarter net income rose 10% to $100.6 million, or 44 cents a share, up from $91.1 million, or 39 cents a share, for the same period last year. The Columbus, Ohio-based bank was expected to earn 47 cents a share, according to the average analyst estimate as measured by Thomson First Call. Shares of Huntington fell 31 cents to close at $23.99 on Tuesday.

Ethan Allen profit, sales rise

(7:48 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.
ETH, +1.34%
said Wednesday that second-quarter profit rose to $26.2 million, or 77 cents a share, from $23.1 million, or 63 cents, a year earlier. Sales for the three months ended Dec. 31 advanced to $276 million from $245.3 million in last year's second quarter. For the third quarter, the Danbury, Conn., home furnishings retailer said earnings per share is expected to increase 8% to 12%.

State Street net income rises 35%

(7:25 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- State Street Corp.
STT, +1.24%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $249 million, or 74 cents a share, up 35% from $184 million, or 55 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.42 billion from $1.27 billion. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 73 cents a share and revenue of $1.41 billion. Return on stockholders' equity from continuing operations was 15.9% in the quarter, up from 11.9%. Shares of State Street Corp. fell 72 cents to $56.77 on Tuesday.

CORRECT: J.P. Morgan net income jumps 62%

(7:15 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
JPM, +0.67%
on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.698 billion, or 76 cents a share, up 62% from $1.666 billion, or 46 cents a share in the year-ago period. Excluding non-operating items, earnings were $2.6 billion, or 73 cents a share. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 72 cents a share. CEO Jamie Dimon said the Dow component performed well in the quarter, although "trading results were disappointing." Investment banking fees continued to be strong; deposits and accounts in retail banking increased while the bank "achieved further expense efficiencies" after its merger with Bank One. Shares of J.P. Morgan fell 21 cents to $39.71 on Tuesday. (Corrects percentage change for net income.)

Take-Two to extend 10-K filing date

(7:14 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
TTWO, +0.77%
said Wednesday it filed with regulators to extend the filing date for its annual report for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2005. The company expects to file its form 10-K within the 15-day extension period.

Applied Industrial Technologies 2Q earnings rise

(7:10 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Applied Industrial Technologies
AIT, +4.70%
on Wednesday said income for the second quarter rose to $15.3 million, or 50 cents a share, from $10 million, or 33 cents a share in the year ago period. Net sales rose 13% to $456.2 million. Analysts, on average, were expecting second-quarter earnings of 47 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. For the third quarter, the company expects earnings of 53 cents to 58 cents a share on sales of $483 million to $493 million. For fiscal 2006 it forecast earnings of $2.10 to $2.20 a share on sales of $1.86 billion to $1.89 billion.

Southwest Airlines Q4 profit up, sees Jan. revenue rising

(7:02 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Southwest Airlines
LUV, +0.42%
said fourth-quarter net income rose 53.6% to $86 million or 10 cents a share. Excluding the effects of unsettled derivatives transactions, net income rose 44% to $98 million or 12 cents a share. Operating revenue for the quarter rose 20.1% to $1.99 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 13 cents a share on revenue of $1.95 billion. The company said it sees a favorable outlook for the first quarter of 2006 and expects January's load factor and unit revenues to rise.

SunTrust Q4 profit up on cost controls, improving credit

(6:46 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- SunTrust Bank Inc.
STI, +2.11%
said fourth-quarter net profit rose 13% to $513.8 million or $1.41 a share. Income excluding expenses from the acquisition of National Commerce Financial Corp. was $1.43 a share, exactly in line with the forecasts of analysts polled by Thomson First Call. Total revenue for the quarter rose 7% to $2 billion. The company said the profit rise was due to tight cost controls and improving credit quality trends in the quarter.

Mellon Financial's quarterly net rises 8.3%

(6:41 AM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Mellon Financial Corp.
MEL, -1.00%
reported fourth-quarter net income of $208 million, or 50 cents a share, up from the prior year's $192 million, or 46 cents. Quarterly revenue expanded to $1.23 billion from nearly $1.1 billion. Analysts, on average, had been looking for Mellon to earn 49 cents a share on revenue of about $1.22 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call. Assets under management increased 11% to a record $781 billion as of Dec. 31, the company said. Shares of Mellon lost 6 cents to end at $35.15 in Tuesday's trading.

CIT Group profit rises on division sale, tax reduction

(6:27 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Leasing company CIT Group Inc.
CIT, +1.31%
said fourth-quarter net profit rose 21.8% to $248.3 million or $1.21 a share. Fourth-quarter finance income, which excludes revenue from fees and sales of leasing equipment, rose 23.5% to $1.23 billion. The company said the quarter included several items, including the sale of its micro-ticket leasing unit and a reduction in fourth-quarter income tax expense, which resulted in a 24 cents a share increase in earnings. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting quarterly earnings of $1.04 a share.

Downey Financial's quarterly net down nearly 10%

(6:09 AM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Downey Financial Corp.
DSL, -0.05%
reported fourth-quarter net income of $41.9 million, or $1.50 a share, down from $46.4 million, or $1.66 a share, earned in the same period in 2004. Net interest income dropped to $87.3 million from nearly $90 million. The decline reflected a lower effective interest-rate spread, Downey said. Average interest-earning assets increased 7.1% to a little more than $16.4 billion. Analysts, on average, had been looking for quarterly earnings of $1.53 a share, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call. Shares of Downey fell $1.36, or 1.9%, to end Tuesday's trading at $68.83.

European stocks slump on Intel, Tokyo losses

(3:27 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were sharply lower in early trading Wednesday after a weak Wall Street finish, heavy selling in Tokyo and a further hike in oil prices. U.K. electronics retailer DSG International(UK:DSGI)was one of very few gainers, adding 0.5% after a rise in same-store sales. Brewer SABMiller(UK:SAB)slumped 3.1% after it reported slowing growth in lager sales. In Germany Infineon Technologies s: ifx](DE:623100)lost 2.8% after Intel reported disappointing sales on Tuesday. More broadly the German Dax 30 shed 1.7% at 5,366, the French CAC 40 lost 1.4% at 4,740 and the U.K. FTSE 100 fell 1% at 5,641.

LogicaCMG: 2005 operating results in line with expectations

(2:45 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- LogicaCMG(UK:LOG)said Wednesday that overall operating results for 2005 were in line with market estimates, with organic revenue growth of around 5%. The company said operating cash flow in the second half of the year was strong, which will give full-year cash conversion in line with forecasts. LogicaCMG added it was able to increase second-half margins in its IT services division, including by more use of offshore resources.

ASML Q4 net, sales slump, but top forecasts

(2:43 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Dutch chip equipment maker ASML
ASML, +0.44%
(NL:33436)said fourth-quarter net income slipped to 51.6 million euros from 109 million euros, with sales down to 548 million euros from 785 million. Both profit and sales came in higher than AFX News-compiled forecasts. On a sequential basis, fourth-quarter profit and sales rose, and the company booked 55 systems compared to 46 systems in the third quarter. Its order backlog of 95 lithography systems worth 1.43 billion euros is also higher than the 87 system backlog at 1.25 billion euros from the third quarter. Looking ahead, it expects to ship 48 systems in the first quarter at an average price of 14.1 million euros each, but said short-term demand for a few additional shipments may materialize.

DSG International 8-week sales rise on flat margins

(2:33 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Consumer electronics retailer DSG International(UK:DSGI)said Wednesday that same-store sales in the eight weeks to Jan. 7 rose 2% and gross-margins over the period were in line with a year ago. The best performing division was in Ireland, where same-store sales grew 17%, while the worst performing was DSG's U.K. mobile phone stores, where same-store sales fell 28%. The company said total sales for the six-month period ending Nov. 12 rose 3% to 3.51 billion pounds. Pretax profit for the period was down 20.5% at 106 million pounds or 4.2 pence a share, while the dividend for the half rose 5% to 1.92 pence a share.

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